July 2020

Dates to Remember

Sat 4 July The Red Lion re-opens
Mon 20 July Parish Council by Zoom – 8.00pm

The Red Lion – Re-Openning

Please be advised that we will be opening once more on Saturday the 4 July. We will be booking tables in the garden and would prefer that they went to regulars and villagers. We expect demand to be high as we can provide lots of safe outdoor space in which to be safely served by our staff, so please call us to book a table should you wish to do so.

We will be continuing to run ready meals for those who wish to shield themselves, or those who would rather not cook.  So come down or give us a ring and either way, we’ll see you soon.

Ray and Jo Lambe 459585

Preston Parish Council: Monday 20 July

The next meeting of Preston Parish Council will be held on Monday 20 July at 8.00pm via Zoom video conferencing. Any member of the public who would like to raise an issue to be discussed at this meeting should contact the Clerk. Anyone who would like to join in the electronic meeting should also contact

by Friday 17 July. A link to join the meeting will emailed about 15 minutes before the meeting is due to start.

St Martin’s Church
Services And Readings For June

At the time of writing, we do not know whether services will be held in church or broadcast by video. We will let you know as we know more. We will however be sticking fairly firmly to these readings.

Sunday 5th July 4th Sunday after Trinity
Romans 7: 15 – 25a
Matthew 11: 16-19, 25 – end
Sunday 12th July 5th Sunday after Trinity
Romans 8: 1- 11
Matthew 13; 1- 9, 18-23
Sunday 19th July 6th Sunday after Trinity
Romans 8: 12 – 25
Matthew 13; 24 – 30, 36 – 43
Sunday 26th July 7th Sunday after Trinity
Romans 8: 26 – end
Matthew 13: 31 – 33, 44 – 52
Sunday 2nd August 8th Sunday after Trinity
Romans 9: 1 – 5
Matthew 14: 13 – 21
Sunday 9th August 9th Sunday after Trinity
Romans 10: 5 – 15
Matthew 14: 22 – 33
Sunday 16th August 10th Sunday after Trinity
Romans 11: 1 – 2a, 29-32
Matthew 15: (10 – 20) 21 – 28

Team Vicar of St Paul’s Walden with Preston:

The Vicar Writes

You don’t need me to say that we are still in the middle of COVID-19, even if shops and other establishments are now open and there has been a degree of easing. It’s not over yet.

The effects of the virus have been random and far reaching. Jobs lost, pay cut, and working hours severely reduced have been part of the high cost. And despite the government’s unprecedented intervention, there are many who have still slipped through the net and are feeling the pinch.

And then there has been the social isolation, the loneliness, the bereavement, the inability to celebrate lives lost with proper funerals.

My heart goes out to all who have been affected adversely by the virus. What I do know is that a spirit of neighbourliness in our villages has never been more necessary or more evident.

Recently I have been reading the gospel of Luke – a short passage every morning – and trying to reflect on its meaning for us. One of the things that Luke is very keen to show us is how God comes to us in the middle of our ordinary daily lives. He comes for example to disciples who are cleaning their nets. And he wants to take our everyday world and weave into it another world, another reality – the kingdom of heaven.

Amid the stresses and struggles, and the fears and waitings of our everyday lives, Jesus wants to be present as the person and place where earth and heaven meet, with a care for the least and the lost. This is the hallmark of the whole Christian gospel as Luke presents it, and I read it with a great sense of encouragement.

I hope that this most unusual of summers can be one in which God comes to you.

With every blessing,

Stephen

St Martin’s Church 120 Club Draw 2020/2021

The winners in the May draw in the 2020/21 120 Club (£30 each) were:

No. 53   Mrs A G Ide
No. 121 Mr D J Hill

Neighbourhood Watch

The number to contact at North Herts Police for all non-emergencies (including witnessing of fly-tipping) is 101 or 01707 354000.

For removal of fly tipping which has already occurred, call NHDC 01462 474000 or online at www.north-herts.gov.uk, then follow the links to Transport and Streets, Street Cleaning and Fly Tipping where there is a form to complete to report the details.

PC Johnie Streeter and PCSO Heather Burrows can be contacted regarding local community issues. Their contact details are as follows:

PC Johnie Streeter: 07525 905431 or 01438 757604 Johnie.streeter@herts.pnn.police.uk

PCSO Heather Burrows: 07740 745168 or 01438 757604 or heather.burrows@herts.pnn.police.uk

In the event of an emergency or if you witness a crime taking place please call 999.

Reporting suspicious activity

Please report any suspicious activity or vehicles you may witness in the locality.

Call the police on the non-emergency number 101 or report it online by using the website www.herts.police.uk/report and follow the links.

COVID 19: Preston Help Line

Preston Parish Council and The Preston Trust would like to remind Preston residents that the helpline continues to be available during the corona virus situation.

As there are only a few requests for assistance, the helpline will operate on reduced timings from Wednesday 1 July. The answer phone will be on the rest of the time, so if you do need anything you can still call and someone will get back to you as soon as possible, although it may not be until the next morning. With the onset of Test and Trace please remember that should you need to self-isolate help is at hand.

Anyone who requires help should:

The phone line will be monitored daily from 8.00am to 8.00 pm.

Preston Parish Council and The Preston Trust would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the volunteers for their support for the helpline.

Please stay safe and remember to follow the latest Government guidance.

Covid-19 And The Newsletter

Producing our Parish Newsletter is a community initiative. Between us, we have taken steps to protect both the volunteers who produce and deliver as well as our readers. We have reduced the number of people involved in production – Howard edited the newsletter and e-mailed it as a Word file for printing; Rae and Wal printed, folded and sorted into delivery rounds this month; each delivery round was laid out separately for contact free collection.